Create a Canada Post Business Profile

If you're connecting a Canada Post Commercial account to ShipStation, you must have created a Business Profile in Canada Post that uses your commercial contract number. If you were using your Commercial Canada Post account with another shipping provider, it's likely you have already created this. However, if you're new to Canada Post or recently upgraded from a Solutions for Small Business account, you'll need to create a new user profile that uses the contract information.

Other Available Options

Important

The Available Shipping Options by Carrier article lists all the shipping options available when using ShipStation. However, your carrier may offer shipping options that ShipStation does not include. If an option is not included in this list, that means the option is not supported in ShipStation.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier integration can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs information electronically to the carrier.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Additional carrier insurance can be purchased through ShipStation.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

When tracking is available, ShipStation will automatically track the shipment status and update the tracking status on the Shipments tab. This feature allows for other advanced ShipStation features like delayed notifications and the Branded Tracking Page.

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and submits the shipment information electronically. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. A printable file may or may not be available, see the End of Day (PDF).

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and creates an End of Day PDF file that can be printed and provided to the carrier. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. The file may or may not be submitted electronically, see End of Day (Electronic).

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can include information that will be displayed on the label as a label message. Label messages may not be available for all shipping services.

The carrier integration can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple individual packages are linked together into a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier integration to ShipStation multiple times using different account information, and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.

Integration Notes

Remember these points about ShipStation's integration with Canada Post:

Canada Post return labels are only available to Commercial account holders. Return labels cannot be voided, cannot include carrier insurance, and will always require Signature confirmation.

If using a Commercial Canada Post account, you must manifest your shipments!

You can do this directly in ShipStation using our End of Day process. You can then provide Canada Post with a physical copy of the manifest.

Manifests are not required for Solutions for Small Business accounts.

Cannot electronically submit customs documentation for international shipments. You must provide any necessary customs documents with your shipments.

Special characters can prevent label creation. You may need to remove special characters such as & @ ` ~ | ! % * < > to create the label.

You may incur extra fees if you drop-off packages at a deposit location that is not considered your nearest drop-off location. Use the Canada Post Find a Deposit Location tool to find your nearest deposit location.

Return Labels - Canada Post does not support voiding support labels.

Return Labels require Signature Confirmation. This is to ensure that item was successfully returned.

Does not support carrier insurance for return labels.

Canada Post uses a specific formula called 'Volumetric Equivalent of Actual Weight'. This accounts for the weight and dimensions of the package, and charges for the shipment based on volume when applicable.

Does not support multi-package shipments. You must split the shipment, and will not see a + sign for multiple packages as with UPS, FedEx, or Purolator.

Does not support carrier insurance for return labels.

Card for Pickup confirmation option not available currently.

Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.

Issue

How to troubleshoot or resolve

Error "Method of payment Account/Credit Card is not available" when creating shipping labels or closing shipments

This error indicates that the payment method selected for the Canada Post integration is not valid, the credit card on file needs to be updated, or you have reached the credit limit of your account.

To resolve this, check your Canada Post account and make sure the credit card is up to date or there is still a balance on the Account payment method.

If neither of the above is the problem, go to Settings > Shipping > Carriers & Fulfillment, and click Settings for your Canada Post account. Toggle the payment method to either Credit Card or Account and save your changes.

Error "/rs/soap/shipment/v7: cvc-simple-type 1: element unit-weight value '0.000' is not a valid instance of the element type" when creating international shipments

This error message occurs when ShipStation rounds the weight value for an international shipment and the calculation ends up with a value of 0. This can happen if you have a lightweight shipment that contains a customs line item that has a high quantity (such as a 100 gram package with a customs quantity of 500.)

To resolve this issue, adjust your customs declaration so that the name reflects that it's a multi-pack but the quantity is only 1. For example, use "Pack of 500 Paperclips - Qty 1" instead of "Paperclips - Qty 500."

Shipments lost when changing payment type.

If changing the payment type, ensure EODs are closed prior to the change, or that day's shipments may be caught in a limbo state.

Error "Rejected by SLM Monitor" when creating a Canada Post label.

This error is caused by the Canada Post's servers throttling your Create Label request. You may also receive this error in the event of a Canada Post server maintenance/outage.

In either instance, if you receive this error, your best option is to give it a couple of minutes and try again.

Typically, Canada Post allows 20 requests per minute. If you receive this error frequently, you can request a limit increase on your Canada Post account.

Error "The label for this service cannot be rendered on the type of paper provided."

The Priority Worldwide services labels are incompatible with ShipStation.

To use Priority Worldwide services for a shipment, create the label from the Canada Post portal. To create the label in ShipStation, select a different service.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier integration can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs information electronically to the carrier.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Additional carrier insurance can be purchased through ShipStation.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

When tracking is available, ShipStation will automatically track the shipment status and update the tracking status on the Shipments tab. This feature allows for other advanced ShipStation features like delayed notifications and the Branded Tracking Page.

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and submits the shipment information electronically. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. A printable file may or may not be available, see the End of Day (PDF).

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and creates an End of Day PDF file that can be printed and provided to the carrier. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. The file may or may not be submitted electronically, see End of Day (Electronic).

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can include information that will be displayed on the label as a label message. Label messages may not be available for all shipping services.

The carrier integration can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple individual packages are linked together into a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier integration to ShipStation multiple times using different account information, and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.